Nominated for a Small Business Influencer Award in: Marketing Campaign

For 20-person Blue Chip Athletic, trying to drum up customers wasn’t getting the company anywhere. When it grew from having just a few customers to having many more, co-founder Gonz Medina found it harder to remember customer details. He decided to invest in CRM software to help the company deliver the best possible experience to its customers -- and generate leads.

Now the company uses its CRM to develop and nurture qualified leads. The process starts with the company offering a free digital giveaway to capture the email address of prospective customers. Then Blue Chip Athletic offers to mail the lead a free bumper sticker. At this point, the company has both email and physical address, and can continue to nurture each lead until it becomes a sale.

Blue Chip Athletic has reduced the time it wastes chasing the wrong prospects and sales suspects, and has poured more energy into developing the right leads. That has given it more time focus on ensuring existing customers are satisfied.